2 Chronicles 2
The Message
The Temple Construction Begins
2 Solomon gave orders to begin construction on the house of worship in honor of God and a palace for himself.
2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce.
3-4 Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent David my father for building his palace. I’m about to build a house of worship in honor of God, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship—the acts of worship required of Israel.
5-10 “The house I am building has to be the best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. But who is capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies—the entire cosmos!—can’t begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God—burning incense to him is about all I’m good for! I need your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided. Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I’ll send workers to join your crews to cut plenty of timber—I’m going to need a lot, for this house I’m building is going to be absolutely stunning—a showcase temple! I’ll provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers: 130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
11 Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: “It’s plain that God loves his people—he made you king over them!”
12-14 He wrote on, “Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for God and a palace for himself. I’ve sent you Huram-Abi—he’s already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.
15-16 “Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. We’ll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to Joppa. You’ll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself.”
17-18 Solomon then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen to manage the work crews.
Divrey Hayamim Bais 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
2 (1:18) And Sh’lomo determined to build a Bais for the Shem of Hashem, and a Bais (palace) for his kingdom.
2 (2:1) And Sh’lomo conscripted threescore and ten thousand ish to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand ish as stonecutters in the hill country, and three thousand and six hundred to be their foremen to oversee them.
3 (2:2) And Sh’lomo sent to Churam Melech Tzor, saying, As thou didst deal with Dovid Avi, and didst send him cedars to build him a Bais (palace) to dwell therein, even so deal with me.
4 (2:3) Hinei, I build a Bais for the Shem of Hashem Elohai, to set it apart as kodesh and to dedicate it to Him, and to burn before Him ketoret sammim (fragrant incense), and for the ma’arekhet tamid (regular offering of the rows of bread), and for the olot boker and erev, on the Shabbatot, and on every Rosh-Chodesh, and on the Mo’adei Hashem Eloheinu. This is for l’olam (forever) to Yisroel.
5 (2:4) And HaBeis which I build is gadol, for gadol is Eloheinu above kol HaElohim (all the g-ds).
6 (2:5) But who has the ko’ach to build Him a Bais, seeing the Shomayim and Shomayim of Shomayim cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a Bais, except to burn sacrifices before Him?
7 (2:6) Send me now therefore an ish chacham in zahav, and in kesef, and in nechoshet, and in barzel, and in purple, and in crimson, and in blue wool, and that has skill in the art of engraving to work with my chachamim in Yehudah and in Yerushalayim whom Dovid Avi did provide.
8 (2:7) Send me also cedar, pine, and algum logs, from the Levanon, for I know that thy avadim have skill to cut timber in the Levanon; and, hinei, my avadim shall be with thy avadim,
9 (2:8) Even to provide me lumber in abundance, for the Bais which I am about to build shall be gadol v’hafeleh (great and magnificent).
10 (2:9) And, hinei, I will give to thy avadim, the woodsmen that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten chittim, and twenty thousand measures of se’orim, and twenty thousand baths of yayin, and twenty thousand baths of shemen (olive oil).
11 (2:10) Then Churam Melech Tzor answered by letter, which he sent to Sh’lomo, Because Hashem hath loved His people, He hath made thee Melech over them.
12 (2:11) Churam said moreover, Baruch Hashem Elohei Yisroel, that made Shomayim v’et HaAretz, Who hath given to Dovid HaMelech a ben chacham (wise son), endued with seichel and binah, that might build a Bais for Hashem, and a Bais (palace) for his kingdom.
13 (2:12) And now I have sent an ish chacham, endued with binah, namely my master craftsman Churam-Avi,
14 (2:13) ben isha of the Banot Dan, and his av was an ish Tzor, trained to work in zahav, and in kesef, in nechoshet, in barzel, in avanim (stone), and in etzim (wood), in purple, in blue wool, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to engrave every kind of engraving, and to execute every design which shall be put to him, with thy chachamim, and with the chachmei adoni Dovid Avicha.
15 (2:14) Now therefore the chittim, and the se’orim, the shemen, and the yayin, which adoni hath spoken of, let him send unto his avadim,
16 (2:15) And we will cut etzim out of the Levanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will float it to thee in rafts by yam to Yafo, and thou shalt carry it up to Yerushalayim.
17 (2:16) And Sh’lomo took a census of all the gerim that were in Eretz Yisroel, after the census wherewith Dovid Aviv had numbered them; and they were found a hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
18 (2:17) And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be stonecutters in the hill country, and three thousand and six hundred menatzkhim (foremen overseers) to keep HaAm working. [T.N. See 1Kgs 6:1. 966 B.C.E. the construction began on the Beis HaMikdash.]
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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